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Timberwolves roster analysis: Anthony Edwards’ leadership, new additions and more

Posted By: keaton
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Tickets are selling like they have never sold before in Minnesota Timberwolves history. Anthony Edwards is coming off of an Olympic gold medal in Paris, helping to turn a once looked-over franchise into a hot commodity with the NBA’s marketing team.

This Timberwolves season is shaping up as perhaps the most anticipated since the very first one in 1989. The Wolves have a highly respected front office, a coaching staff that has a track record of getting the most out of the players under their watch and a young core that learned some valuable lessons during last season’s run to the Western Conference finals.

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While there is much familiarity with the group that will open the season on Tuesday in Los Angeles against the Lakers, there is still so much to learn about a group that is still getting to know each other. The seismic trade that sent Karl-Anthony Towns to New York for Julius Randle and Donte DiVincenzo happened just before training camp started late last month. Randle only played in one preseason game, so there is work to be done to build the chemistry that was so palpable on last season’s squad.

“I feel like we’re ready,” point guard Mike Conley said. “I think there’s a lot of things we can still get better at. In the preseason, we didn’t get a full couple of games to run our complete unit. We still feel confident with what we have in place.”

The first few weeks of the season figure to be a feeling-out process for this new-look team. Gone is the twin-tower identity forged by the pairing of Towns and Rudy Gobert. Now, the Wolves roster has a more conventional feel to it, one they believe will help them match up better against a wide variety of opponents in the Western Conference.

Even though the starting five — Conley, Edwards, Randle, Gobert and Jaden McDaniels — only played sparingly in the preseason, some things could be gleaned about this roster from those five games. The Timberwolves look like one of the deeper teams in the NBA, something they will have to lean heavily on to mitigate the loss of KAT’s star power.

So, let’s examine the roster and what was seen in the preseason on the eve of the opener.

Lead guards

Depth chart: Mike Conley (starter), Donte DiVincenzo, Nickeil Alexander-Walker, Rob Dillingham.

Outlook: Once viewed as the thinnest position on the roster, point guard no longer appears to be a major concern for Wolves coach Chris Finch entering the season. It starts with Conley, who turned 37 earlier this month. He is the team’s most reliable player who has turned himself into an elite 3-point shooter. Last season, Conley shot a career-high 44.2 percent on 3s, helping to open up the offense a little bit around Towns, Edwards and Gobert. But he played 76 games in the regular season, and Finch has said that they will be more careful with Conley’s minutes this season to keep him fresh for the playoffs. Who will take his minutes when he is off the floor is a major question.

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Reasons for optimism: DiVincenzo’s playmaking. When the Timberwolves first made the trade with the Knicks, there was excitement surrounding DiVincenzo’s 3-point accuracy (40.1 percent) and volume (8.7 per game) that he took in New York last season. But president of basketball operations Tim Connelly immediately started discussing DiVincenzo’s playmaking and their belief that he can play on the ball in the second unit. Throughout training camp and the preseason, Finch has lauded DiVincenzo’s creation, so much so that it appears he has slotted into that role behind Conley as the season is about to start.

When asked how many of the questions at backup point guard have been answered by DiVincenzo, Finch replied, “A lot. He’s been outstanding with the ball in his hands as a playmaker. We know Julius can also create, we know Nickeil. We’ve seen even a little more increased playmaking from Jaden (McDaniels), not in a classic point guard role, but I feel like we are very comfortable with what we will do going forward at the point guard spot.”

Areas for improvement: At just 19, Dillingham showed a knack for finding teammates during the preseason that was somewhat surprising to those who pictured him as just a microwave scorer off the bench. He had a 5-to-1 assist-to-turnover ratio in five preseason games, but it is clear that Finch needs to see more development from him before he gets significant minutes in the rotation. That is to be expected for a rookie on a team that sees itself as a championship contender, but Finch’s depiction of his preseason after the finale against Denver last week was telling.

“It’s typical ups and downs,” Finch said on Dillingham. “I think for him, he’s got to kind of start to understand the purpose of how he plays. I think he’s kind of searching a hard road right now. He’s trying to get himself going too hard. Come down, play in the flow a little bit more, be a bit more of a distributor first. Then, when he gets into the heart of the defense with a quick, decisive move, he can find people. But too much dribble, I think. And defensively, he’s already giving up size and weight, so he’s got to be able to figure out how to win the battle early and not foul.”

Wings

Depth chart: Anthony Edwards (starter), Jaden McDaniels (starter), DiVincenzo, Alexander-Walker, Joe Ingles, Josh Minott, Terrence Shannon Jr., P.J. Dozier.

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Outlook: It is a versatile group, with a home run hitter in Edwards, a defensive stopper in McDaniels, combo guys in DiVincenzo and NAW who can play on and off the ball, a quarterback in Ingles and a youngster on the rise in Minott. Shannon shows promise with his physicality but likely will not be in the rotation early. Dozier was chosen over Keita Bates-Diop for the final roster spot because of his versatility as a ballhandler, but he did not play well in the preseason and will not be in the rotation. The top four on the depth chart are deep in talent, shooting and defense, giving Finch options galore in various matchups.

Reasons for optimism: Edwards has looked more than ready to continue his ascent to superstar status. He has been vocal in practices and games, upping his leadership quotient as he enters his fifth season. He also has appeared to embrace the push for more 3-point volume to help account for Towns’ departure. As Finch alluded to above, McDaniels has shown a little more offensive game in the preseason, including the ability to create a little bit off the bounce. If he shoots it like he did in the playoffs, he becomes a true two-way threat. And, seemingly out of nowhere, Minott burst onto the scene in October, showing greater control, shooting and maturity to give the Wolves an intriguing, 6-foot-8 option off the bench.

“I feel like I just got smarter, understanding what works, what doesn’t,” Minott said. “Just making the right reads, stuff like that. Just simplifying my game, not worrying about too much. Just doing what they expect of me.”

Areas for improvement:  Alexander-Walker was so important to the Timberwolves’ success last season, a defensive stopper who shot 39 percent from 3-point range to establish himself as a bona fide rotation player in his fifth season in the league. But the landscape has changed for him heading into season No. 6. He has spoken about wanting to be the main person to take the point guard burden off of Conley, but he hasn’t looked completely comfortable in that role. Alexander-Walker is a rhythm player and a deep thinker who is in a contract year. The trade to bring in DiVincenzo makes the competition for minutes even greater. How he handles that external pressure will play a big role in his performance this season, which could set him up for a huge raise next summer.

Bigs

Depth chart: Rudy Gobert (starter), Julius Randle (starter), Naz Reid, Luka Garza, Leonard Miller.

Outlook: In many ways, this could tell the tale of the Timberwolves season. They sent out Towns, who dutifully made room for Gobert in the starting lineup and spread the floor with his 3-point shooting, for Randle, a more deliberate player who excelled in the midrange and iso games in New York. How will Randle and Gobert work together while also making sure that Edwards has a clear runway to the rim? Finch seems rather unconcerned. Randle played with Mitchell Robinson, a reasonable facsimile to Gobert from an offensive stylistic standpoint, in New York and fared well in those lineups. There is a push to have Randle be more of a playmaker as well, which will be key to improving on the 17th-ranked offense from last season. Reid is one of the best bench players in the league, Garza is a legit scorer and Miller is an intriguing developmental project.

“I’ve always liked to say I’m more of a passer than a scorer,” Randle said. “That’s what I genuinely like to do. That’s how I grew up playing basketball.”

Reasons for optimism: More Naz Reid. Towns’ departure does open up more minutes for Reid, the reigning NBA Sixth Man of the Year who seems to make big strides as an all-around player every summer. He is one of the most skilled players on the team with a handle, a shot and some improving defense that was on display against Denver in the playoffs last season. Finch still likes him coming off of the bench even after the trade, but his two-man numbers with Gobert were out of this world last season and offer so much flexibility for the coach when it comes to constructing lineups. He averaged 24.2 minutes per game last season and it wouldn’t be a shock to see that up toward 30, especially early in the season while Randle works his way back after a long layoff.

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Areas for improvement: Getting Randle acclimated to the group will be a priority. He only played in one preseason game and has not played in a regular-season game since Jan. 27 because of the shoulder injury that caused him to miss the entire second half of the season. Randle appears to be fully healthy now and has been full go in practices leading up to the opener. But it is reasonable to expect that he will need some time to knock off the rust and to adjust to his new teammates. Remember how long it took Gobert to settle in? It shouldn’t be that kind of an elongated process, but there will be moments early in the season when the offense looks clunky until they figure each other out.

(Photo of Anthony Edwards: David L. Nemec / NBAE via Getty Images)